One might think this is the moment for community broadband networks. The truth is, locally-directed networks have been serving their communities for a long, long time.

Communities have been building their own communications networks since before the Internet was commonly available in the 1990s. Long before broadband, more than 100 communities had built their own cable television systems. Some of these towns had grown tired of waiting for private investment, others purchased failed private networks in their areas, and still others simply felt they could do a better job than the companies commonly operating cable systems.

FCC Announces Over $311 Million for Broadband, Acts to Clean Up Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Program